Testimonials

“My parents met with Rona and immediately made the decision to hire her as their financial planner. They felt that they would be very well taken care of.”

Recently my father asked me to recommend an investment advisor. He did not have confidence that his broker could be counted on to provide the best financial advice and guidance.

My father is 86 years old and in great shape (he just gave up tennis) and his mind is still sharp. My mother is 81 and her short term memory has become a real problem. My father has always been the financial custodian and he was worried that if something would happen to him, my mother would be in no position to manage her financial affairs.

I strongly recommended that they meet Rona Birenbaum as I thought she’d be the best choice. I told him that Rona could be trusted to review their portfolio and provide sound recommendations.

My parents met with Rona and immediately made the decision to hire her as their financial planner. They felt that they would be very well taken care of.

There are many financial advisors out there - it’s a jungle – but rest assured that if you hire Rona Birenbaum it will be the best financial decision you make.

Michael Marmur

“From the first meeting...Rona and Clifford demonstrated their caring, passion for helping, and deep expertise in financial planning”

For 28 years I got off easy: my husband Steve handled all our household and personal finances. I didn’t know, I didn’t worry, I was lucky...he took care of everything. Being married to a certified financial planner, I trusted his judgment totally. I was happy to let him do everything but also felt guilty because I knew I was abdicating responsibility.

That all changed when I realized that if anything happened to him, I’d be SOL. I wanted 3rd party perspective and the reassurance I had experts I could trust who would be there as my back-up.

I knew that Rona Birenbaum and Clifford Boland, with their holistic and values centric client approach would be perfect for us. It took some convincing, but Steve agreed to engage their services to review our finances and help with our retirement planning.

Rona and Clifford were wonderful: their pre meeting homework forced us to lay everything on the table and discuss our needs and future dreams together. Letting people into your personal finances is an intimate experience. Personal finances, like sex, are not something one easily talks about with “strangers”.

From the first meeting to their comprehensive evaluation and recommendation, Rona and Clifford demonstrated their caring, passion for helping, and deep expertise in financial planning. Their communication skills facilitated discussion between Steve and I on some tough topics and opened a new level of partnership in planning for our future.

Thanks to Caring for Clients I am more informed and educated. Steve is reassured he’s been doing the right thing. And as a couple we share the job more equitably and have greater partnership around our money.

Thank you for giving us greater confidence about our finances, for opening great discussions about the future and for giving me a new peace of mind knowing you’ve got my back should I ever need you.

Sincerely,

Lauralea Conrad

“They approached my situation in a holistic way...”

I have known Cliff Boland and Rona Birenbaum for over four years and their help to my family and me was, and is, invaluable. They approached my situation in a holistic way - knitting together our hopes and dreams, market realities and current and expected financial situations to create (and execute) a crisp integrated plan so that the Prevosts can be financially sound, protected, and eventually, independent.

Cliff and Rona are as skilled as they are approachable - with them you get an unusually warm professionalism, coupled with a broad network of related professionals (tax, legal) that they can bring to bear.

Needless to say our returns have been excellent, but so is the ongoing relationship, and their resulting advice. I can't imagine my family's future being in better hands.

Dean Prevost
President, MTS Allstream

“Who knew it could be fun talking about money!”

Splitting up is hard to do...my investment portfolio and I had become more and more distant over the years. It was sometimes suffering and sometimes benefiting from my benign neglect. I felt guilty about my lack of attention.

Once I met Rona and Clifford I knew that they were the ones I could trust. I could tell that they care about people and know how to manage money. Within a few weeks I made the decision to give a three-some a try.

What a relief it was when they worked through my investment profile, took my current statements away and then came back with charts, graphs and a proposed plan. Congratulations about my good choices in some areas and understanding about my neglect in others. Who knew it could be fun talking about money!

Now I am happily delegating the details to my investment team. I know they will give my portfolio the regular attention it deserves.

C. McCandless

“Honesty and integrity are the hallmarks of your service”

We thought it was about time to write a note to you folks to let you know that you have really added a tremendous amount of value to our lives. Both of us have always felt very comfortable that we are getting the very best advice, (even when we didn't want to hear it!) and the trust relationship has grown over time.

We really appreciate the interest, friendship and counsel you have also provided to our family. Your insight into the needs of one of our sons has put him on a very different and more appropriate path. That is way more than I would have ever expected from a financial advisor.

We have and will continue to recommend your services to friends, family and colleagues. Honest and integrity are the hallmarks of your service - please keep up the excellent work!!

Judy & Robin McLeod

“Beyond the call of duty”

As I completed another review of your notes from our previous meeting and attended to some loose ends, I thought it appropriate to pause and acknowledge all that you have done for our family over the past five months.

Perhaps this is just normal service at Queensbury, or perhaps it is how you honour the long term relationship you had with my Dad. In any case, it strikes me as exceptional service and certainly 'beyond the call of duty'.

I am astounded by the minutia of detail and complexity of issues, associated with survivorship, that you have navigated Beth and myself through over the past several months. In addition, you have dealt with a change in investment priorities and level of sophistication with patience and openness. Notwithstanding the attributes of some of my father's long-term investments, that you have so patiently explained, I am convinced that the best investment choice that he made for his family was the decision to engage Queensbury. I now more fully appreciate the confidence in you that he valiantly tried to communicate to me from his last bed in the hospital.

Scott Richardson

“Rona’s deep dedication to her clients never ceases to impress and amaze me. She really believes in what Caring for Clients offers, and she shows it in everything she does.”

Rona makes sure, hour by hour and year by year, that her firm gives her clients everything they can to plan well and retire comfortably. All the information, all the responsiveness, all the ongoing research into best resources and best practices, all the good guidance – whatever it takes.

Rona invests in her team too. She regularly brings in outside professionals to help the office operate well; she takes her staff on retreat days and team-building exercises; she buys personal gifts at holiday time.

Rona recently told me that she her client retention percentage is in the high 90s – and this is after 20 years in the business. I’m not at all surprised.

Marcia Ross

“Rona and the team at Caring for Clients helped us put together a plan that is far beyond financial advice.”

Their unique holistic approach had us explore all aspects of our life to ensure that we had all the necessary support in place for our future. True to their name, the "caring" customer service approach made us feel supported and kept us accountable to our agreed deliverables. We look forward to working with Rona and the team for many years to come.

She's "fee for service", so what you get is strategy - smart, savvy strategy - not tactics

She selects her clients for their best fit with her

She's got an extraordinarily broad range of expertise

I'm delighted to be working with Rona, and recommend her unreservedly.

Michael Bungay Stanier

“It is my pleasure to recommend Rona for the work she does through Caring for Clients. I first met Rona at a business networking event, and was taken by her ability to connect with people.”

My company has had the opportunity to hire Rona as one of our speaker-experts in the area of personal finance and estate planning, both of which she delievered to one of our GTA-based clients.

Feedback both times has been glowing. People tell us that Rona "knows her stuff" and she does a great job making complex topics very understandalbe. We also receive feedback that tells us her approach is practical and her presentation style is engaging.

Rona, thank you so much for always doing such a great job and being a pleasure to work with. We look forward to bringing you onboard with many more projects in the future.